Mungo Guisado or Filipino Mung Bean Stew is a classic comfort dish, it’s one of my favorites. Mung beans in case you didn’t know are the beans that produce bean sprouts. That crunchy sprout commonly used in many types of Asian Cuisine.

In many Mungo Guisado recipes including the one my grandmothers used they would soak the dried mung beans, in Tagalog its called Mungo beans, in water for hours. My recipe doesn’t call for soaking the beans; skipping the soaking step in my opinion makes my recipe much easier as you don’t have to plan on making the dish hours ahead.

I love mungo guisado on cold rainy days. Eaten with freshly steamed white rice makes it a filling and comforting meal. I use bok choi, Chinese cabbage, in my recipe; but you can use any type of leafy greens such as spinach, bitter melon leaves, kale, or mustard greens.

Here’s my recipe, hope you love it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Dried Mung Beans – available in the Asian markets

2 Tbs. Vegetable oil

1 Large onion chopped

1 Tbs minced garlic

1 Cup tomatoes diced

6+ Cups Water

2 – 3 Tbs Patis – Fish Sauce – adjust to suit your taste

1 Lb. Shrimp shelled and deveined

1 Large Bunch of Bok Choi or other leafy greens roughly chopped

Directions:

Heat oil in large pot

Sauté onions until they start to turn translucent

Add Garlic until it starts to brown

Add Tomatoes and cook until they start to soften

Add dried mungo beans

Add at least 6 cups water and stir well

Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cover pot

Cook for at least an hour or until the beans are softened to your liking – you may have to add more water if the mixture is too thick – add water 1 cup at a time until you get the desired consistency

Stir in Patis and shrimp -you can adjust amount of fish sauce to your liking or leave it at 2-3 tbs and let everyone add more later if they prefer